Singer-songwriter, actor and voiceover artist Chris Orbach will visit Darlington School on Jan. 8-9, 2015, to work with fine arts students to provide hands-on activities, share tips and techniques, answer questions and give a real-world depiction of today’s production and audio technology industry. Orbach will be bringing some of his own audio equipment to use for the demonstrations and exercises.
The artist’s visit to the campus was made possible by the fine arts department’s 21st Century Artist program, which is funded by Darlington's Carla and Leonard Wood Faculty Professional Development Endowment Award. This endowment award was established to encourage and finance outside experiences aimed at enhancing the learning experiences of students and faculty at Darlington.
"I'm planning to show the students what to do once you're in the recording booth from my own experiences of trial and error after 17 years in the business," said Orbach.
Orbach's journey shows the importance of versatility in one’s craft, as well as knowing both music theory and the more technical components of musical composition.
“I wanted to supply [director of instrumental music] Will Camp's endeavor with the audio engineering program to bring in an artist that could help facilitate a collaboration, which is where Chris comes in,” said Rebecca Duren, Darlington's Upper School choral director
Duren became friends with Orbach after the two met each other in New York in 2001. The artist was suggested as a possible guest because of his diverse array of skills and talents as a musician, audio technician, and voice actor.
“Chris' own financial investment into his recording technology facilitated a voiceover career with more variety, scope, and access to contracts in that he wasn’t limited to what he could do just in New York City,” said Duren.
“I want to stress to the students that staying in the arts is very important,” said Orbach. “These days there may not be as much money in the industry, but the arts are an important part of society and life, and if you can do something like voiceovers to stay in the arena then it is worthwhile."
Born to “Law & Order” star Jerry Orbach and first wife Marta, Chris Orbach initially set out to follow in his father’s footsteps to be an actor. As a self-taught guitarist and pianist, he has toured all over the northeastern United States and has released two albums: “Safely Through the Night” (2004) and Secession (2009).
To find out more about Darlington's fine arts program, click here.
